MLA Style

OSLIS has selected the MLA style for documentation of sources as a model for students and teachers to follow. The style recommended by the Modern Language Association for preparing student research papers concerns itself with the mechanics of writing, such as punctuation, quotation, and citing of sources. MLA style has been widely adopted by schools, academic departments, and instructors for nearly half a century.

The use of a uniform style by teachers across different disciplines and grade levels throughout a school or district is less confusing to students. Confusion can also arise from models found in various grammar books and the variety of online examples available on the Internet. Students will find MLA style in use in colleges and other institutions of higher learning in the United States as well as in the contemporary publishing world.

Formats and examples used in the OSLIS tutorials and activities have been prepared using the MLA Handbook, sixth edition.

What are some of the major features of MLA Style?

Use of parenthetical, in-text citations rather than footnotes

References generally appear in a Works Cited page not a bibliography

In a research paper that follows MLA style, the list of works cited is the only place where readers will find complete information about the sources cited.

Leave only one space after a concluding punctuation mark

Publications in the U.S. today usually have the same spacing after a punctuation mark as between words on the same line (influenced by the look of typeset publications).

online citations use brackets to set apart the web or other online address